Hon. Marty Deacon: Would Senator Plett take a question?

Senator Gold: Thank you for your question.

As I mentioned, I don’t have any information on the process being considered by the government. However, I will ask the question and get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.

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Senator Plett: Senator Omidvar, I struggle with that. My caucus votes as individuals on all legislation, not just this one. I’m wondering whether yours will or whether yours will be whipped. Ours will not be, as they have not been whipped on any legislation.

Senator Omidvar, for the record, since we’re talking about going back and going into the future, check the records and see how we voted. I’ll use one of the most challenging pieces of legislation that has come through here, and that is assisted suicide bill. We were probably maybe 40 to 60. So, yes, we will be voting as individuals.

(On motion of Senator Patterson, debate adjourned.)

On the Order:

Resuming debate on the motion of the Honourable Senator Moncion, seconded by the Honourable Senator Dean, for the second reading of Bill S-215, An Act respecting measures in relation to the financial stability of post-secondary institutions.

Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is also for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.

During the 2019 federal election campaign, the Prime Minister promised to eliminate the swipe fee on HST and GST for credit card transactions claiming this would save small businesses nearly $500 million annually. Following the NDP-Liberal budget last month, Dan Kelly of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business stated:

Despite an election promise in 2019 and a budget commitment in 2021, no progress has been made in reducing credit card fees for small business other than yet another round of consultation.

So, leader, why didn’t the NDP-Liberal government keep this promise to our local businesses? Why are you choosing more consultations instead of honouring the commitment you made to eliminate their credit card fees?

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.

Senator Gold: Thank you, colleague, for the supplementary question.

I’m advised that businesses whose production is lost to depopulation efforts are being compensated at fair market value. Producers also have access to a series of business risk management programs. As previously indicated, the government is monitoring and actively engaged on this file, including working with the industry to provide timely compensation and to support the safe resumption of operations as quickly as possible.

Senator Pate: Thank you, Senator Gold.

In fact, the government’s own research shows that the bill will not decrease Indigenous overrepresentation, based on what it has introduced, so I’m also interested in what the timeline is and what steps remain before these commissions are operational. If the government is not planning immediate review of these women’s cases by these commissions, how will they plan to remedy these miscarriages of justice?

An Hon. Senator: Bring in Mike Holmes.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. It is a sad fact that not only the official residence of the Prime Minister but so many of Canada’s buildings here and abroad have suffered from decades and decades of underinvestment and neglect, and as a result, those of us who have travelled internationally and had the privilege of being received in our embassies can attest to the sorry state they find some of them in, and it’s shameful.

The official residence of the Prime Minister is simply unfit for use, and studies need to be done to make sure that the Prime Minister of this country, whoever he or she may be, has a residence that is worthy of the office that they occupy.

Hon. Colin Deacon: Honourable senators, I rise today to bring attention to what I believe is Nova Scotia’s best-kept secret. Now, you might ask, “What is deserving of that illustrious moniker?” Might it be Nova Scotia’s geographic grandeur or our fabulous seafood? Of course not. Those are not secrets.

As is often the case, Nova Scotia’s best-kept secret is hiding in plain sight. It is none other than our friend and colleague Senator Dan Christmas. Senator Christmas’s efforts as a champion for Mi’kmaq nations in his home community of Membertou, Cape Breton Island, precedes his appointment to this august chamber by decades. Five years ago this month, Senator Christmas noted in his very first speech in this chamber, “There was no economic development and no employment prospects of any kind. No hope, no future.”

The community was in deep trouble, completely shackled by the oppressive measures in the Indian Act. Consider the facts: In 1995, Membertou had 37 employees, a budget of $4 million — 99% of which originated from government — and $1 million in operating deficit annually. Twenty-five years later, Membertou employs nearly 600 people — up sixteenfold — has a $112 million annual budget — up twenty-eightfold. Three quarters of which is commercial revenue — and has famously led the transformative billion-dollar acquisition of Clearwater Seafoods.

How did they do it? Well, Membertou unlocked the most powerful natural resource that they had, the only resource they had actually been left with: they unlocked the power of their people. Through this remarkable and hard-earned transition, Dan served as senior adviser to Membertou’s Chief Terrance Paul, his Director of Operations Bernd Christmas and his band council. The Membertou miracle, a complete economic and social turnaround, is now seen as very best practice in community economic development and Indigenous affairs.

Dan was very close to retirement when his community leaders asked him to consider applying to become a senator. Sure enough, shortly thereafter he received a call from the Prime Minister and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, as we all know, Dan is a man of very few, very carefully chosen words. He is a devoted family man, who reliably exhibits calming wisdom, grace and kindness. He is dedicated to preserving Indigenous customs and laws with dignity and honour. He serves as one of the very best mentors many of us have ever had. Dan is also allergic to self-promotion.

In that light, I hope that he will forgive me for my words today, but I felt it important to acknowledge that the secret is getting out. This week, Cape Breton University will confer a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, on Senator Dan Christmas.

Our deepest, heartfelt congratulations for this long- and well-deserved recognition, Senator Christmas. Your selfless service inspires countless. Wela’lioq. Thank you.

Hon. Senators: Hear, hear!

[Translation]

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Leader, in June 2021, during the debate on Bill C-208 by Manitoba Conservative Member of Parliament Larry Maguire, you stated:

Bill C-208 would provide considerable benefits to some taxpayers in the form of tax-free distributions of corporate surplus without adequately ensuring that a genuine intergenerational business transfer has occurred.

In the recent NDP-Liberal budget, the Minister of Finance announced that her government will consult on changes to be made to the Income Tax Act concerning this legislation that received Royal Assent last June.

Leader, after you urged the Senate not to adopt Bill C-208 last year, your government is now of the opinion that there is no urgency, the consequences are not that important and that a consultation with no set date will be sufficient.

Senator Gold, do you stand by your remarks of last June, and if so, how do you explain that your government doesn’t share your view that it’s urgent to correct this situation? Also, did you overstate the dangers of Bill C-208, or is the NDP-Liberal government leaving a loophole in place? Which is it, Senator Gold?

Senator Plett: Did you overstate of dangers of Bill C-208, yes or no? It’s actually four questions.

Leader, during the debate on Bill C-208, our colleague Senator Harder, who was defending the position of your government, stated, “. . . the bill becomes a substantial fiscal cost to the Government of Canada.”

One year later, Senator Gold, what has been the estimated cost of Bill C-208 to the federal government?

Hon. Vernon White: Honourable senators, I wanted to speak for a few minutes about National Police Week, which we’re in the middle of this week. During National Police Week, we often speak of policing by way of remembrance. We should remember those who have lost and often given their lives in the defence of others and themselves, and that is part of what we talk about during this period. There are other things we should speak to as well.

We have police officers working right now across the country who are willing to lose everything they have to defend the lives of those they serve. They are in big cities, small towns, rural and isolated communities. They are working in Toronto or Grise Fiord, with similar training from their communities’ similar demands.

All too often, the public sees a police officer in a certain light — typically the light that the public is holding — but there are many other things at play: shift work, work-life balance or imbalance, long shifts, violence committed by some against the police and other members of the community, physical relocations — I could go on.

Just as an example, the former minister of public safety Bill Blair stated that policing is not a career but, rather, 10 careers, three years at a time. In fact, looking at the five people in this room who served in multiple police agencies across the country, there have been more than 40 physical relocations in almost every province and all three territories.

For generations, men and women of our nation’s law enforcement community have dedicated their lives to protecting us in those big cities, small towns and isolated communities. It is easy for us to judge when the police are wrong. Like the rest of us, there will be times when they are wrong. It is fair to do so. But it is also fair that we look at the police for what they do right. While we must hold the police to account for their actions, we must as well recognize that living in this country with the policing models we have in place, we live in one of the safest places in the world — something we should celebrate.

This year, Police Week is celebrating the connections between the police and the public. Those connections are seen in their work every day, obviously, but as well in the thousands and thousands of hours, days and weeks that the police in Canada — both civilian and sworn — spend engaged with their communities as volunteers.

So for this week, I, for one, want to thank the civilian and sworn police employees across Canada for their service. Thank you.

Hon. Rose-May Poirier: Senator Gold, on Friday, the federal government appealed the decision recognizing that the position of Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick must be held by a person “capable of executing all tasks required of the Role of Lieutenant-Governor in both the English and the French Languages.” Despite the government’s fine words, its intentions are now clear. The Prime Minister wants to retain the privilege of appointing lieutenant-governors who can’t communicate in French. Senator Gold, why is the Liberal government dragging Acadians through an appeal rather than supporting them and recognizing their rights?

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. That is a fundamental issue. The Government of Canada recognizes that it is essential to appoint lieutenant-governors who are proficient in both official languages, given New Brunswick’s status as a bilingual province.

The decision to appeal the ruling of the Court of Queen’s Bench does not in any way compromise the government’s commitment to protecting and promoting linguistic duality, which includes our modernization of the Official Languages Act. Going forward, the government is committed to appointing bilingual lieutenant-governors in New Brunswick, starting with the next appointment process.

Hon. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu: Honourable senators, I feel very moved to rise today to mark Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. We are joined by a number of women who have been victims of intimate partner violence and by families whose loved ones have been killed as a result of intimate partner violence. We just heard their names read out. They are a powerful example of strength and determination.

These women who are here today are part of a group of 100 or so other women who are watching us. My statement is dedicated to them because, one day, they decided to break the silence that imprisoned them. These courageous women are the authors of my bill, Bill S-205, which, as you know, aims to protect thousands of Canadians women who are currently forced to remain silent out of fear for their lives and those of their children.

These women here in the Senate today are heroines. They are role models for other women who have spoken out against the violence they experienced, saying, “Enough is enough.” They are also heroines for facing up to a justice system that failed to protect them, given that they risked their lives by reporting their abusers.

There are two reasons they are here in the chamber with me today. First, they are here to be the face of women who have been injured as a result of intimate partner violence and in memory of the women who were killed, the ones the justice system failed to protect. These survivors are also here for a second reason: their tireless commitment to changing the law to better protect women who will one day want to report their abusers.

Let’s recall that, in 2021, the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability identified 173 homicides of women and girls, over 50% of which were attributed to intimate partner violence. This is a 30% increase over the past three years. The federal government is not doing enough to address the violence that is killing too many women.

In 2022, we can no longer hide the victims to hide the problem. In a few minutes, together with two colleagues from the other place, Ms. Dancho and Ms. Vecchio, we will officially launch national e-petition 4011, which calls on the federal government to pass my Bill S-205 to put a stop to the hundreds of femicides happening in Canada each year. Canada must catch up with other countries by showing leadership and making the right decisions to do a proper job of protecting 52% of the population: women.

I invite my honourable colleagues to demonstrate solidarity with all women across Canada by signing and sharing this petition. Without strong solidarity, we will continue to mourn the loss of women and children and ask ourselves why we didn’t do enough to save them. We have lost too many of them. Now it is time to save them.

To my collaborators and to the families of murdered victims, I want to say that your courage is undeniable, and you deserve our full respect and commitment. Honourable colleagues, I’m sure you will all join me in saluting these deserving individuals.

Thank you.

Senator Poirier: Senator Gold, the list of controversies is growing, and they include the appointment of a unilingual Governor General and a unilingual Lieutenant-Governor, a quasi‑appeal as a result of a broad interpretation of Part VII of the Official Languages Act, concerns regarding child care agreements without language clauses for francophones, the unilingualism of CN and Air Canada executives, a press conference given by the Minister of Immigration in English only, and lastly, this decision to appeal Justice DeWare’s ruling. How can Acadians and minority language communities be sure that your government is working to advance linguistic duality when its actions, including the decision it made on Friday to appeal the ruling, prove otherwise?

Senator Gold: Thank you for the question. As I said, the decision to appeal the ruling does not indicate a lack of commitment. The Minister of Justice said that there are some important principles at play in the reasons for judgment set out in the ruling that the government decided to appeal. These principles include the process for amending the Constitution and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

As for your question, more generally, I encourage you to take a close look at the official languages bill to see how committed the government is to minority language communities, including francophones in your province.

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